


tainted love

by rendawnie



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Celebrations, Crushes, Cute, Demon Park Seonghwa, Demons, Feelings, Firsts, Fluff, Getting Together, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, Holidays, Kissing, M/M, Scary Movies, a very small amount of spice, honestly this is just extremely soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rendawnie/pseuds/rendawnie
Summary: Three months ago, Hongjoong didn’t even know demons existed, let alone that they could be sweet, and caring -- and a million other things that Seonghwa always is, when he and Hongjoong are hanging out.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 21
Kudos: 201
Collections: All Hallows ATEEZ Exchange





	tainted love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [so_real](https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_real/gifts).



Hongjoong squints at the crumpled list in his hand, drawing a quick, careless line through the first entry. “Okay. Costumes acquired. Already off to a good start!” he says cheerfully, looking up to give Seonghwa a reassuring smile.

The demon sitting next to him, so close that their knees just touch (not that Hongjoong’s noticed, really), chuckles softly. “I tried to tell you, I don’t need a costume,” he counters, eyes flashing gold as he lets a steady gaze settle on Hongjoong, keeping it there just long enough for a dusty blush to spread across the bridge of Hongjoong’s delicate nose. Neither of them mention it. 

Hongjoong averts his eyes elsewhere, anywhere else, anywhere but on Seonghwa, tall and lean and stretched out over the old carpet of Hongjoong’s bedroom. He looks even less human than usual here, juxtaposed against the dull colors of last decade’s decorating trends. Not for the first time, Hongjoong wonders why Seonghwa even bothers to hang out with him. He’s sure there are tons of things Seonghwa could be doing instead, but he’s here, in Hongjoong’s room, and he’s agreed to spend all day and however long it takes of the night with him. That part isn’t unusual anymore, but something about today feels different. Hongjoong isn’t sure he wants to try and put his finger on why. Not just yet. Instead, he tries for an unaffected eyeroll, tapping his pen against one knee, then pulling both legs up to his chest. Immediately, he misses the feeling of Seonghwa’s supernatural warmth against him. He clears his throat, ignoring the lump that seems to be ever-present when he and Seonghwa are together.

“You _do_ need a costume, actually,” he begins, leveling a stern look at Seonghwa. “Halloween is _about. Costumes._ ” Seonghwa raises one perfectly groomed eyebrow, amused, but doesn’t reply, so Hongjoong barges ahead, because he doesn’t like silence. “I know, I know, you could just get out your… your _horns_ and your ‘forked tongue’ or whatever,” (here, Hongjoong makes air quotes, as if he’s not convinced Seonghwa’s forked tongue is an actual, real thing that’s given him more than one deliciously naughty dream to wake up from) _"B_ _UT,_ ” he presses on, ignoring Seonghwa’s mouth falling open, ready to protest, “we can’t have you scaring all the little kids while we’re trick-or-treating!”

Seonghwa sighs, throwing up his hands in defeat. “I thought Halloween was _supposed_ to be scary!” he exclaims. Hongjoong can just see the small fangs peeking out from his lips. He tries not to smile like an idiot, tries not to get lost in thought again about how Seonghwa is only this open with him. He only shows all the little things about his _real_ appearance to Hongjoong. He trusts Hongjoong. Hongjoong knows this, because Seonghwa tells him all the time.

Three months ago, Hongjoong didn’t even know demons _existed,_ let alone that they could be sweet, and caring, and a million other things that Seonghwa always is, when he and Hongjoong are hanging out. 

Three months ago, Hongjoong had no idea that he would be here, on an overcast, windy Halloween afternoon, full of determination to give Seonghwa his first real Halloween experience. Full of all these _feelings_ for Seonghwa. He doesn’t really know what word to assign to them, those pesky emotions he’s always stuffing down. It doesn’t really matter, Hongjoong supposes, because Seonghwa just sees him as a friend. He knows that. He’s lucky enough to have that much, so he lets it be enough. He tries, anyway, and so, when Seonghwa mentioned one day that Halloween wasn’t exactly a thing where he came from, and that he really had no idea what all the holiday festivities entailed, Hongjoong made it his personal mission to show his favorite holiday of the whole year to the demon who’d somehow become his best friend. It was the least he could do, honestly.

“Halloween _is_ supposed to be scary,” Hongjoong muses. “But, like… not trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treating is more just fun. For kids, y’know?”

Seonghwa snorts quietly. “For kids.”

“Yeah,” Hongjoong shoots back.

“I’m two hundred and thirty-seven years old, Hongjoong,” Seonghwa reminds him, making Hongjoong gag and pretend to fall over in deep, deep disgust, even though he feels nothing of the sort.

“ _God,_ STOP. Don’t remind me, grandpa,” he mutters with a giggle, letting the laughter give way to completely embarrassing squeaks when Seonghwa leans over and tickles him with both hands, fingernails scratching lightly at his ribs while his warm smile scratches at Hongjoong’s heart. It feels so good when Seonghwa touches him, so warm and comforting and strange that Hongjoong always wants it to last forever, but he only lets it go on for a few seconds before he throws in the towel, raising his hands both in defeat and to shield himself from Seonghwa’s attacks.

“Fine! Fine, oh my god. We won’t, like, _go_ trick-or-treating. We can just watch the kids going door-to-door on the walk to the haunted house, and we’ll eat candy on the way,” Hongjoong proposes. “Deal?”

“Mmm,” Seonghwa agrees, moving away just enough to let Hongjoong sit up and run a hand through his mussed hair. “Okay. Explain those two things to me. Haunted houses and… candy?” He says it like the words taste strange on his tongue, such mundane phrases turned so foreign between his lips.

Hongjoong stares at him in disbelief, unable to stop a surprised little laugh making its way up his throat and out of his mouth. “I can’t even believe you’re real sometimes, you know,” he says before he can think it through, before he can think of all the ways Seonghwa might interpret the words. But Seonghwa’s face remains neutral, if affectionate ( _platonically_ affectionate, Hongjoong reminds himself), when he answers.

“I mean. Technically, I’m not. As far as humans know,” Seonghwa shrugs, sitting back on his heels and giving Hongjoong that _stare_ again. 

Hongjoong sighs. “Yeah, yeah,” he murmurs, looking down at his list. “Okay, um. So, you understand the trick-or-treating, right? And the costumes?”

Seonghwa lets out a short laugh. “Sure.”

Hongjoong licks his lips, thinking of how he can best paint a picture of the next two activities on the list. He doesn’t notice, he never does, the way Seonghwa’s gold eyes sparkle just a little brighter every time he listens to Hongjoong speak.

*

Between costume-shopping and haunted houses, Hongjoong manages to cross a few more items off his ever-present list.

Seonghwa grimaces into the hollow cavity of the pumpkin on Hongjoong’s kitchen table, hands full of stringy pulp that he’s trying not to look at too closely. He’s not sure a demon has ever thrown up before, but he thinks maybe this could be the first thing to do it.

“I don’t like this,” he says aloud to pretty much no one, since Hongjoong has run into the other room to get the jack-o-lantern pattern he forgot to bring in when they started. By the time he returns, finding Seonghwa staring dolefully in the direction he knew Hongjoong would appear from, Seonghwa has decided to cross pumpkin decorating off his personal list. 

“I don’t like this,” he repeats, helplessly raising his messy, pumpkin covered hands to show Hongjoong. 

Hongjoong bursts into those adorable giggles once again, grabbing a wad of paper towels off a nearby roll to help Seonghwa get cleaned up. It’s only a minute or two later, while Hongjoong has both of Seonghwa’s hands resting in his lap so he can wipe up every bit of pumpkin, even the bits stuck underneath his fingernails, that Seonghwa considers changing his mind about pumpkin decorating. It has its upsides, he supposes.

Not that he’ll be telling Hongjoong that.

*

They end up making cookies together instead, and it goes better, even though they both know Hongjoong will be the only one eating them. Hongjoong wears an apron and Seonghwa instigates no less than two flour fights, both ending with Hongjoong’s cheeks and nose smeared with the baking staple, and Seonghwa’s black pullover dusted in an uneven layer of white. He shrugs and yanks it over his head carelessly just as Hongjoong turns back to the batter, and Seonghwa is kind enough not to say anything when just a quick glance in his direction causes Hongjoong to drop the egg he’d been about to crack into the bowl right onto the floor, oozing yolk in a small puddle under the stool Hongjoong is standing on at the counter.

No, Seonghwa doesn’t say anything about that. He just turns and grabs another paper towel (they’re really going through a lot of them today, it seems), and then he stoops down to clean it up with a swipe or two, tossing the soiled towel into the trash and gathering up his discarded shirt to add to the laundry pile in Hongjoong’s room.

The demon excuses himself to the bathroom and pulls another shirt quite literally out of thin air, identical to the last, smoothing it down over his chest and abdomen before giving himself a long hard look in the mirror. 

The thing is that, Seonghwa knows he’s handsome. Of course he does, and of course he is. All demons are -- just a bit too beautiful to be human. But Seonghwa doesn’t understand why Hongjoong doesn’t see the same thing in himself. To Seonghwa, Hongjoong’s gorgeous: all slender and small, yet oddly powerful, a certain grace in the way he moves. Seonghwa looks away from the mirror, huffing out a laugh. If only Hongjoong knew that his “badass” demon BFF was actually too scared to tell him how he really feels. That he’s kind of in love with him, or whatever.

 _Maybe soon,_ Seonghwa thinks. _I’ll do it… soon._

Given that it’s been a couple months since the last time he told himself that, it’s not an entirely hopeful thought.

*

Four hours pass by in the blink of an eye, and neither of them really know how. Seonghwa does know a few things, however.

He knows that he’s standing in between Hongjoong’s legs while Hongjoong sits on his bathroom counter, applying eyeliner to Seonghwa’s lids carefully, tongue poking out between his teeth the slightest bit.

He knows that Hongjoong’s legs wrapped around his body almost immediately, effectively trapping him where he stood, as if he had any intention of squirming away.

He knows that Hongjoong must not be aware of the way his thighs keep tightening against Seonghwa’s sides, that he must not realize how his heels keep digging into the flesh at the small of Seonghwa’s back with just enough force for Seonghwa to feel… distinctly _possessed._

Usually, he’s the one possessing people. He’s the one taking people over and feeding on their energy, playing with their minds and hearts recklessly, because it’s what he has to do to survive.

Seonghwa wonders if maybe Hongjoong isn’t part demon, himself, because just now, he feels like he can sort of understand what his (willing. Always willing, mind you) victims go through.

Hongjoong’s focused on Seonghwa’s eyelids, so Seonghwa decides to take the opportunity to just _look_ at him. With their faces this close, Seonghwa can see the lightest dusting of freckles splayed across Hongjoong’s nose, spread out like Seonghwa sometimes wishes his fingers could over the soft skin of Hongjoong’s belly. He can practically count Hongjoong’s stupidly long eyelashes, from this distance. He starts to seriously consider giving it a try, but then Hongjoong leans away from him the smallest bit, recapping the eyeliner in his hand and giving his work one last critical appraisal. “Yup. Devastating,” he announces, and Seonghwa has no idea what _that’s_ supposed to mean, but he guesses it doesn’t matter because Hongjoong is pushing him back gently and hopping off the counter into the space between them, moving away to let Seonghwa lean into the mirror and give himself yet another long, hard look.

He looks good. Appropriately smoky and smoldery, with dark contours drawn into his cheekbones to give them a hollowed-out effect. Seonghwa didn’t expect anything less from Hongjoong’s skills. But…

“I could have just done this myself, you know,” Seonghwa murmurs, bemused. He doesn’t know why he says it at all, because he wouldn’t have _wanted_ to just wave a hand and miss all of this, miss Hongjoong pressed against him and Hongjoong everywhere and-- 

Hongjoong, rolling his eyes as usual. “I know, idiot. But it’s better when I do it,” he announces, proud of himself, and Seonghwa lets him have it. “I gotta go get dressed,” Hongjoong continues, wandering around the bathroom and cleaning up a little, a nervous habit that’s always charmed Seonghwa in its simplicity. He wonders what Hongjoong’s nervous about, if he can do anything to make it better.

“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” Hongjoong finishes, eyeing Seonghwa up and down. “Put on your costume.” He’s gone before Seonghwa can reply.

Shaking his head in resigned disbelief, Seonghwa slips out of the bathroom behind him, padding down the hall and to the living room, where Hongjoong has laid his costume, tags freshly cut off of the cheap, thin fabric. It’s not much to look at, just a black shirt and pants with white skeleton bones printed on them, but it’s fine. Seonghwa doesn’t really care what he has to wear, anyway. He gets the outfit on quickly, shoving the pant legs into his boots haphazardly, and then he waits.

It’s not twenty minutes, of course it’s not. Seonghwa knows Hongjoong better than that.

It’s nearly a full hour before Hongjoong saunters into the living room, decked out in head to toe punk rock, from his torn jeans to his worn leather jacket and blue spray-painted hair. He’s added a bunch of fake piercings to all the real ones in his ears. Seonghwa wants to push him against the nearest wall and make him forget his own name.

Instead, he forces a tight smile onto his lips and his eyes an inch to the right of Hongjoong, just far enough to where Hongjoong is only in his periphery, but Seonghwa still looks like he’s participating in the conversation, rather than running through a small library of the most unsexy images and thoughts he can muster up, so he can behave like a normal demon, instead of an extra large, lust-dumb nerd. “Ready?” Seonghwa questions, and he hears how his voice is strained with all this effort he’s making not to beg Hongjoong to let Seonghwa give him the 25% off demon experience (y’know, minus the parts where he feeds on Hongjoong’s energy. He’d rather keep that up for rounds two through fourteen). 

Hongjoong must not notice, because he just smiles and leads the way out the front door, locking it securely behind them.

Seonghwa has the distinct feeling that he’s in for a very, _very_ long night.

*

The haunted house they’re going to is just on the edge of Hongjoong’s neighborhood, he tells Seonghwa while they weave their way through small throngs of preteens trick-or-treating at each house on every street. Seonghwa watches it all with fascinated eyes, the whole spectacle. The whole idea of it. He likes all the colors that flash around him, the glitter and sequins that shimmer off costumes with fairy wings and devil horns. He can smell buttered popcorn and something like sugary apple, like it’s just in the air around them, a sweet, melted presence that won’t leave until Halloween is over. 

He follows Hongjoong, stumbling a few times when he stops to look too long at something else, at some ghostly decorations or a particularly inventive costume. Finally, after the third time Seonghwa nearly wipes out on the concrete in front of his feet, Hongjoong grabs his hand firmly, and just like that, Seonghwa’s whole world condenses down again, shrinks into this pinhole that’s just he and Hongjoong, just the way he likes it. He focuses on the feeling of Hongjoong’s much smaller palm pressed against his, cool and just a little clammy. Like he’s still anxious about something, but Seonghwa still doesn’t ask.

He doesn’t have time to, anyway, because Hongjoong’s neighborhood is small and they’re at the haunted house before he has time to process Hongjoong’s hand leaving his to pay for two tickets. Seonghwa should really look into getting some human money, he thinks for the fiftieth time. Hongjoong shouldn’t have to pay for him every time they go somewhere. Hongjoong should be treated to anything he wants, even if he refuses to let Seonghwa glamour his way through their… friendship dates. Or whatever. He refuses to let Seonghwa charm free movie tickets out of cinema employees, or comped meals out of tired diner waitresses, and in a weird way, it only makes Seonghwa want to treat him _more._

Trying to push those thoughts out of his head, Seonghwa glances up in front of them while Hongjoong’s finishing up his transaction, at this so-called “haunted house”. He’s conceptually aware of haunted houses, both because Hongjoong explained them to him earlier that week, and because, well… he’s a demon. This isn’t entirely uncharted territory. However, this place doesn’t look anything like he expected. He expected something grand and stately, perhaps decaying or covered with thick spiderwebs. The place Hongjoong is currently pulling Seonghwa towards looks like a large, trashbag covered tent, honestly. But, they’ve got a fog machine, so Seonghwa supposes an effort was made. He’s willing to give it a shot.

There’s a bit of a line in front of them, and they’re only letting people go in small groups or pairs, so they wait. They don’t talk while they shuffle towards the hole in the trash bags that serves as an entrance, but it’s not awkward. It’s nice, actually. Seonghwa has always liked that he and Hongjoong can do this, that they can exist in silence and feel completely comfortable with each other. So much of his… life? Job, he guesses, is just talking and schmoozing and seducing, and it’s exhausting sometimes. Seonghwa likes being in the quiet with Hongjoong so much better.

He’s still kind of lost in thought about it when they make it to the front of the queue, and the employee watching the door gives Seonghwa a hearty pat on the back and a highly manufactured cackle as he attempts to shove him through the entrance. Seonghwa doesn’t think twice about it, like he probably should, before he snaps his head around to face the guy and growls low in his throat, fangs exposed and eyes glowing a much less welcoming gold than they do around Hongjoong. He watches with satisfaction as the guy lets out an undignified squeak and takes a step backwards, before Hongjoong sighs loudly and yanks Seonghwa along after him, and then they’re inside.

It’s more or less completely dark in here, save for some black light bulbs screwed into exposed fixtures every few feet, but that’s not a problem for Seonghwa. He’s more worried about Hongjoong, and he reaches out and takes his hand again, weaving their fingers together securely, just in case Hongjoong needs something to hold onto. Some _one._ He feels Hongjoong laugh, and then he reaches up and tugs Seonghwa down by his collar to whisper into his ear.

“You shouldn’t do stuff like that, you know,” Hongjoong says softly as they take a few steps forward. An employee dressed as a vampire jumps out from behind a corner and hisses at them. They both ignore it.

Seonghwa swallows, not sure what to say, so he just mumbles out a _sorry_ and hopes it’s enough, but Hongjoong squeezes his hand a little after he straightens back up, so he knows it is.

Nothing in here is scary at all, Seonghwa notes as they move through the maze of rooms and dark closets. He didn’t expect it to be, but he’s still somehow disappointed. He knows Hongjoong wants this to be a big deal for Seonghwa, that this is Hongjoong’s favorite day of the year, and he wants so badly to be _in_ the Halloween spirit for Hongjoong’s benefit, whatever the “Halloween spirit” actually means. He’s still working on figuring that out.

Seonghwa’s unfazed by every twist and turn and “monster” they see, but a couple of times Hongjoong jumps in surprise and flattens himself against Seonghwa, and it’s more than enough for Seonghwa to enjoy himself. He wants Hongjoong to feel safe with him. He does, Seonghwa knows, because Hongjoong is unlike any other human he’s ever met, but it’s more than that. Seonghwa wants to _protect_ Hongjoong, to keep him out of harm’s way. He wants to be Hongjoong’s person, in a much bigger way than already is, but he has no idea how to tell him so. He’s never been in love before. He’s not really sure that’s what he feels, but he definitely feels _something_ big, and he thinks that’s what humans need to call something love.

Somewhere around the middle of the haunted house, they take a left instead of a right and get lost, doubling back through the dim corridors and eventually getting spat out rather suddenly back into the chilly night air. Seonghwa barely feels the change, but Hongjoong scoots as close as he can to Seonghwa on instinct for the warmth he exudes in any weather, and Seonghwa lets his arms wrap around Hongjoong’s slight frame, rubbing his back to get some warmth into him. He’s pretty sure that’s a thing that works on humans.

They stand there for just a beat or two too long to be strictly platonic, until Hongjoong slips out of Seonghwa’s grasp and under his arms a little clumsily, shoving his hands in his pockets instead and blinking up at him like he’s waiting for Seonghwa to decide what they’re going to do next, which isn’t the point of this.

Seonghwa doesn’t let himself think too hard about it before he snakes one arm back around Hongjoong and into the back pocket of his jeans, hearing as much as feeling Hongjoong’s breath stutter just a bit before it evens out again and Seonghwa extracts Hongjoong’s list triumphantly, holding it out to him between two fingers. “What’s next?” he questions, trying to keep his grin innocent instead of incendiary.

Hongjoong plucks the paper from Seonghwa’s hand, unfolding it and squinting at it with unfocused eyes, trying to make it look like he’s just reading _really hard,_ but Seonghwa recognizes it for what it is, because he does this all the time, too: Hongjoong’s capital-A Affected, and Seonghwa’s the one who did it to him, and maybe it _will_ be tonight, Seonghwa rethinks, winding his brain back around to its earlier train of thought. Maybe he’ll be brave tonight. Maybe one of them will.

“Um,” Hongjoong starts, “there’s a Halloween party at my friend Mingi’s house, but… I…” he trails off, looking a bit lost. Seonghwa waits it out.

“I would rather… just hang out with you?” Hongjoong finishes a moment later, gaze turning hopeful as they stand huddled together outside the busy haunted house.

Seonghwa bites his lip, trying not to grin even wider. Trying to be careful of his fangs. He’s pretty sure Hongjoong isn’t into bloody kisses, but they haven’t exactly had that conversation yet. They haven’t even had a _regular_ kiss yet. “Okay. What’s after the party, then?” he questions, barely even caring about the answer as long as it gets them back to Hongjoong’s together. Just the two of them.

Hongjoong’s folding the paper into smaller and smaller squares, way smaller than is necessary for it to fit back into his pocket. “Watching scary movies.”

Seonghwa stops trying to control the size of his grin. “Just the two of us?”

Hongjoong grins back. “Mmm.”

As if they both had the thought, they turn back towards Hongjoong’s house and start walking. Only a few steps later, Seonghwa thinks of something.

“Will there be buttered popcorn? I’ve been smelling it all night and I’m just--”

Hongjoong cuts him off with an amazed laugh. “I thought demons didn’t eat human food! And how did you not know candy, but you know buttered popcorn?”

Seonghwa shrugs. He holds Hongjoong’s hand again, just because he wants to. And he thinks he’s allowed to. “I googled it," he says finally. "And, I mean. I probably won’t die trying?” he theorizes. He’s never heard of a demon getting poisoned from a bite or two of popcorn, anyway. He can’t imagine that something that smells so good could be bad.

The laughs turn to giggles in Hongjoong’s mouth, just like they always do. “Only one way to find out, I guess,” he mutters, and Seonghwa feels a bubbling, fizzing sensation in his heart. He’s reasonably sure that’s where his heart is probably supposed to be. When they get back to Hongjoong’s house he’ll ask, and it will make Hongjoong giggle again, Seonghwa’s sure. 

Worth it.

*

Somewhere around the middle of _Scream,_ which Hongjoong assured Seonghwa was a “classic”, and which, to his credit, is actually pretty entertaining so far, Seonghwa decides he’s going to kiss Hongjoong.

They’re in their pajamas, even though Hongjoong knows that Seonghwa doesn’t really _sleep,_ per se, and Seonghwa’s watching Hongjoong wipe his makeup off with a complicated series of skincare products and pads and all sorts of things he doesn’t really understand, when he comes to this realization. Or is it a decision? He’s not sure.

He just knows he’s going to do it, and he’s almost positive Hongjoong will be happy about it. See, Seonghwa’s pretty observant. It’s a supernaturally acquired trait that he prides himself on. He notices almost everything, without really making an effort to. Honestly, the more he notices tonight, the more he can’t believe all the things he probably missed in the last three months, all the subtle hints Hongjoong probably gave him. 

But maybe it doesn’t matter how much he missed, because they’re here now, and Hongjoong eyes have drifted down to Seonghwa’s mouth, his lips, no less than eight times in the last ten minutes. Seonghwa counted.

However, he wants to be polite. He doesn’t want to catch Hongjoong off guard, so he waits patiently while Hongjoong finishes doing his whole evening routine, cleansing his face and brushing his hair, and just when he’s clearing the bed they’re sitting in of all his stuff, and his face is clean and glowy and he looks ten times prettier than he did at the haunted house with all his makeup and piercings, Seonghwa feels like it’s time.

“Hey,” he says quietly, while Hongjoong is turned away, stacking items up on the bedside table. He can hear someone screaming on the TV screen across the room, but he doesn’t care. It’s not going to ruin the moment, if he has anything to say about it.

Hongjoong turns around when he hears Seonghwa’s voice, face curious and open and vulnerable, and Seonghwa can’t help it. He reaches out and cups Hongjoong’s chin in one hand, feeling almost _giddy._ He thinks he gets it now, thinks maybe he understands all the children skipping around, all hopped up on candy and sugar that he and Hongjoong saw earlier that night. He understands the exhilaration of a special day, a special moment. The feeling of getting to do exactly what you want to do. Hongjoong’s lips are parted now and he’s leaning into Seonghwa’s palm like a cat.

“Yeah?” Hongjoong murmurs, just as quietly.

Seonghwa smiles, shifting the smallest bit closer. Not crowding. Not pressuring. So different from how things usually go when he’s “on the clock”, so to speak. 

Seonghwa licks his lips unconsciously, unable to move his eyes from Hongjoong’s pretty, fragile features. “Thank you,” he says next, the words leaving his mouth almost without his permission.

Hongjoong looks slightly confused, then, and Seonghwa almost coos at how cute he is, but he stops himself at the last second. “For what?” Hongjoong breathes. His voice is going softer and softer, the words more languid and dreamy. More under the spell, although Seonghwa knows he hasn’t put one on him. At least, not like he’s used to doing.

Seonghwa moves his hand up, running his knuckles over Hongjoong’s high cheekbones, smoothing down the little crease between his brows. Feeling him, like he’s wanted to.

Hongjoong’s eyes have fallen shut by the time Seonghwa goes on. 

“For Halloween,” Seonghwa whispers, closer and closer. “I think I get it now. Why you like it so much.”

A small, wry smile pulls its way onto Hongjoong’s face, but he doesn’t open his eyes. “Why’s that?” he asks, and Seonghwa realizes that Hongjoong’s fingers have twined their way through his hair, that his horns have begun to push up through the inky black locks without him noticing. That Hongjoong’s short fingers are brushing against the base of one, and that Seonghwa has an extremely limited amount of time left with his wits about him if Hongjoong’s going to keep that up. He swallows hard, determined.

“Because it’s magic,” Seonghwa answers, voice low and husky now with desire. “It’s magic. Like you.”

Hongjoong’s eyes open to slits, just enough for Seonghwa to catch how they sparkle in the low light of the bedroom. He’s still smiling, shifting his body and sliding onto Seonghwa’s lap, and oh my _god,_ he’s actually using Seonghwa’s horns to help him get into place and Seonghwa is fading _fast_ , and--

“Like us,” Hongjoong corrects, so soft now that Seonghwa can feel his lips form the words more than he can hear them. “That’s all I wanted to show you. That we’re the magic.”

He reaches down between them and curls a finger through the chain of Seonghwa’s necklace, the one he always wears, the one Hongjoong said he liked the first day they met. He should give it to Hongjoong, Seonghwa thinks hazily. Something for him to wear and for them to both _know._

Seonghwa feels Hongjoong smirk against his lips, and then he tugs on the chain with two fingers and they crash into each other for the first time.

Seonghwa’s still not sure what love is, but he thinks this must be it.


End file.
